An ongoing chronicle of meeting the expectations of the land…

About

A diary, of sorts, to chronicle the similarities and differences of homesteading on a 1881 farm, in present day. Our farm is located in the Pacific Northwest near the Columbia River Gorge. Our goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible. We rotationally graze our beef cattle, and raise most of our own food, use wood from our woodlot for heat, and maintain our own watershed, using a hydraulic rams for water delivery. Truly the best of both worlds!

While this blog may contain some humorous posts, we are dead serious about quality of the food we raise for our family and our meat customers. We just try to see the entertaining side of country living and farm life.

Do you have a name that you care to divulge? Only for ease of typing and to make you seem more real.

That’s silly actually. You’re very obviously real. And, real smart from the looks of things. I’ve just read your post about your daughter and would like to ask you a question about when she was younger, if you don’t mind.

See, we have a son who is two. We’re planning on un-schooling him and, ideally, getting to be fairly self-sustaining here on the farm. We’re far from it now, with a huge mortgage and a full time off farm job for my husband.

My question is about getting it all done. Did you manage to do a lot of ‘self-sustaining farm-y type stuff’ when your daughter was small? Did you have to deal with someone working off the farm?

I’m taking up a lot of your space here. I apologize. I’m just looking for insight into how you got to where you’re at.

Colleen – I’ve decided not to use my name on my site just for personal reasons, I’ve now realized how &^%*#% long that thing is to type!

On the un-schooling thing, we knew people who had, and were homeschooling and just like anything else, some were successful and others weren’t. We involved our daughter in everything – sometimes it took forever to get projects done! We are both very type A kind of people, but it was good for us to have to slow down to a childs pace. She has “helped” on every project that we have implemented. It’s easy to teach math, science and many other things when it right in front of your face. Critical thinking skills are hard to learn from a book, or in a classroom setting. My husband and I are also avid DIY’ers, so we are always doing something and seeing us complete projects, whether it’s a quilt or cutting down poles to build another shed, helps her feel confident in her own abilities.

Throughout the history of this homestead, someone has always worked off the farm. We actually scaled our business down last year and my husband took an off-farm job. It was scary to for him to enter the job market after 15 years, but now looking back, it was a good decision. We are actually using less fossil fuels with him going to work. We are moving to all grass based products, which for us means beef. The grain situation in our area is crazy. So this may be our last season for pigs and turkey. The interesting thing about my husband working off farm, is his increased awareness of the farm. Now he goes away and looks back, whereas before he would deliver eggs to town and be glad for the break from the farm.

A number of times while giving farm tours to groups, farmers would come and bring their children, they would listen to our daughter talk about her part of the farm, nod their heads and say they were sure their children would feel the same about their farms. But, the funny thing was, that all of these farmers had employees AND babysitters and were sending a different message about the role of the farmer and his family. Some of those kids are now old enough that we can see that they will just grow up to be another boss and having someone doing what they perceive as drudge work. These were also vegetable farms, so the kids may as well be getting their food from the store. If someone else is responsible for planting, harvesting and washing your food, it is hard to feel self-reliant. Having livestock also conditions you for life and death and teaches you that life is just a cycle.

Probably, the most important thing about being self-employed and having your kids home, is that they can experience all the ups and downs and if you are selling food to other people, your job and your place in the world is right there for your children to see. We started out selling at farmers markets and also having people coming to the farm. So socialization is not an issue. Our daughter can give a farm tour just a good as we can, because she has lived it. She’s comfortable with all ages and walks of life.

Oh and yes, it has just been the last 3 or 4 years that we can honestly say that we are eating more fresh food that is growing or in cool storage, instead of relying on the canning and freezer so much.
Which is actually a lot less work than putting up so much in the fall.

Don’t worry about the off – farm job thing, if it’s necessary, then it is necessary. My husband likes to do big projects all the way through, where I’m more detail oriented. That makes it OK for us. I can handle the day in – day out stuff and he can plan the big projects. So it will work – because you certainly have the inclination to make it happen! Best wishes.

Jamay – thanks! you are one of the reasons I started blogging. Yeah – we finally bit the bullet and got high (well, maybe medium) speed. Otherwise, I would still be uploading that first butter picture! Maybe add Warren Christie to my list…

Also think you should look into putting all this in a book. Just finished reading “It’s a Long Road to a Tomato.” I think you could do a much better job. That, and would love it if you offered weekend workshops. How’s that for adding a few projects for ya. :)

I have enjoyed looking around your blog. I’ll be back soon to read more. I have just started blogging, but have been homesteading for 10+ years. We have: milk cow, 2 beef cows, abiut 30 chickens, 4 dogs, 5 cats, 7 kitten. No pigs this year, raised 2 last year. We have a big garden. I can, quilt, knit, sewing etc. Have a great day. Becky

Becky, thanks for stopping by, I’m new at blogging too. It’s amazing to be able to connect with like minded people from all around the world. A new sense of community that is lacking these days. Your homestead sounds like ours, a little of this and a little of that, but pretty much everything we need.

I just found your blog and thoroughly enjoyed your posts. I’m a fellow Pacific Northwesterner, as well as a homeschooling parent. I really enjoyed your gardening posts, especially where you were identifying different plants! Great blog!

I grew up on 6,000 acres, homesteaded by my great grandparents. The year I graduated from High School, Farm Home took over the place and it is no longer ours.

Reading your post made my heart ache for the ranch. Even though we were in the northeast part of the state (used to drive by your neck of the woods on the way to P-town) and pretty arid by comparison, we still had a great garden that I can’t come close to replicating now that I’m in the high desert. (dang those summer freezes!)

Meadowlark, I have to say first I like your avatar – I have never gotten a glimpse of a meadowlark. So sad.

Your family homestead sounds wonderful, I would like the solitude of 6000 acres. Northeastern Oregon is beautiful. Too bad about Farm Home, the latest thing around here is a wildlife deferral on farm land. I think it is just one more way for the government grab to ease in. Our neighbors love it, but soon the restrictions will follow. We are already restricted to homesites on 80 acres, and recently our property was rezoned to forestland. Now we have to reapply for our farm deferral since we are operating outside of the zoning. We haven’t changed a thing, but we are out of compliance by farming.

I can’t imagine the challenge of gardening in the high desert, it’s bad enough here with the 10′ feet of rain. When I was 9 or 10 some family friends took me on a trip to visit their relatives in South Dakota. I had never been east of Multnomah Falls, and when we got to The Dalles, I thought the world had come to an end, it was so dry. I had no idea just how different the landscape would be all the way to SD. I spent a month about 15 miles away from DeSmet, where Ma and Pa Ingalls finally settled. It was magical.

I LOVE READING ABOUT YOU LIFE—-I AM A CITY GIRL (55 HAHA) WAITING TO LIVE ON A FARM—MY GRANDPARENTS ALWAYS HAD ANIMALS AND A LARGE GARDEN BUT AFTER THEY PASSED—HERE I AM STILL IN THE CITY—MAYBE SOON IF THE ECONOMY TURNS AROUND—-I LOVE TO CROCHET AND CROSS STITCH BUT I HAVEN’T QUILTED IN YEARS—-THANKS FOR THE STORIES—-I REALLY AM ENJOYING IT ALL JANET

You LOST friends when you decided to cloth diaper?? I guess they weren’t really friends then, huh? Wow, cloth diapering is THE trendy thing to do now – you can buy some that cost $50 and up. I wrote a post about cloth diapers.

We have so much in common that it isn’t even funny. Farmer Boy is my favorite too – well, maybe it’s tied with These Happy Golden Years… I’m a romantic.

My brother died too – I don’t know if you saw that post or not. I hope it gets easier to handle… I don’t know though. I still go to buy gifts for my parents and think, “Hmmm… wonder if Michael wants to go in half on this?” before I can even catch myself.

And my husband is my best friend too. Makes life a lot easier, doesn’t it??

Cotton Wife, yeah you’re right about the friend thing, why would anyone care what kind of diaper anyone uses?

I guess I liked Farmer Boy the best, because of the farm routine, but I like them all, I have a book called Laura, where a Laura buff traced their whole story, including Almanzo’s family. Very interesting indeed, with some great pictures too.

I went back and read your post about your brother, I so sorry for your family. We still find ourselves thinking of my brother almost daily, and when we can’t make a decision, we dream about him, as if he is here.

LatigoLiz, yeah I have seen it – it is my kid and she takes most of the photos – so I actually used the photo after she did. I did pick a different one though, so I wouldn’t actually be “scraping”. If I remember to take the camera with me I ususally forget something else, so she has been elected!

Just wondering… did you husband attend the recent blacksmithing conference in just-across-the-bridge Washington? (couldn’t remember where exactly). YoungSon went and had a wonderful time and met a lot of great people.

Our two beautiful hens are well, but illegal in the city we live in now, I have become an urban chicken activist, and am trying to get the by bylaws changed here. The boarder collies and cats are well too. Aaron is the best, of course.

We are buying a beef quarter from our old neighbors, grass fed. We wish it was coming from you though! So distressing thinking about your current processors retiring…

Well, I should probably cut this short, but I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your blog. Please say hi to the whole family for us!

I just noticed you linked to my post on healthy meat – thank you! I love your blog and have a question for you: have you thought about adding a subscription link for email? (I don’t care for RSS.) If you add it, please email me so I can subscribe, thanks!

LOL…I also have dirty fingernails but smell like a camel with a little wet llama mixed in! I would LOVE to live on that much acreage, we have just 10. I also homeschool although my 3 big ones are up and away at college, the little ones are still hanging around!

I have just discovered your blog from reading another. I share your views about many things. I would have loved to have been able t be self sufficient, but my first husband thought I was crazy and unfortunately by the time I remarried my present OH and myself could not afford to buy a house with enough land to become self sufficient.

We di have an allotment on which we grow as much of our fruit and vegetables as we can. I was brought up during the war my father was killed and my mother went home to live with my grandmother. My mother went out to work and my grandmother brought me up. It is to her that I owe much of my knowledge of simple living, sewing, knitting and growing vegetables. She also taught me to cook from scratch, something I have done ever since, and that I have brought my own chidlren to do.

I look forward to go back through your blog and read it all.

I gather you have had a massive fall of snow which has wrecked some of your greenhouses……..I do hope you are able to get them up and running again before the start of the growing season.

Hi! I just discovered YOU!! I’ll be going back to read your previous posts.
I find it strange that living off the grid or living “simply” in the 20th & 21st Centuries is looked down upon by so many people… yet their own grandparents or great-grandparents lived the very same way…. and it didn’t kill them! Ha!

I can relate a lot to what you wrote here… Lived on my family’s farm until I was 26, and my family’s been there since the 1600’s. I know live in a house that my husband, dad, father-in-law, brothers, brother-in-law, and grandfather all built, on my great-grandmother’s land. I love feeling connected to my home…

I’m so glad I found your blog. Now I know where to go to get my vicarious life! I’ve always wanted to do exactly what you are doing, and to some small extent I do. We spent four wonderful years in Sisters, a small town just on the other side of the Cascades from you. But now we are back in a southeastern “city” that bans animals other than dogs, cats and birds. (Should I tell them about my cavies, I wonder?) The Homeowner’s Association even bans gardening more than 10% of my total property for food. Of course, we won’t tell them about the “ornamental” kale or edible flowers.

But that’s okay. I’ve found sources for REAL milk, grassfed meats, pastured chickens and eggs and grow what I can on my back patio. My medium-sized (large by today’s standards) family also homeschools and practices home health care.

But I do miss waking up to snow on the mountains, stars in the sky, deer in the yard and birdsong.

I just found your blog via I don’t remember now that I’ve been over here reading so much.

Moh, I envy your life……. I so want to live back in the country and live the simple life. I grew up in a very rural area of Michigan and as a teenager just wanted to escape it……..Now 21 years later, I just want to go back! I am living the simple life – as simple as I can living in a small town on a lot and a half……..I just recently found out I can have chickens, so the hen house is being built next week and I will be having chickens for eggs and meat later on. I started a garden last year, and canned for the first time in my adult life……..my garden is being expanded this year, my seeds are started, and I found a large quantity of mason jars. I have always frozen foods I bought from the farmer market, but I am working on shutting down 1 freezer, just keeping 1 for the meat I get from my sister.

I’m sorry for my rambling, but this is where I am, and now I am off to read some more of your families knowledge on self-sustaining and living simply.

Suzanne, I’m using the Mistylook template, and the tabs are pages. Posts and pages are different things, and I believe there is no limit to either.

The themes are always listed at the bottom of a blog, so if you see one you like, keep that in mind. Sign up, and click on appearances and then you can view the available themes and they tell you what features are available. Column width and where your widgets are displayed make a difference so look at that and find one that suits your needs. They have a great FAQ and Forum section to answer most questions!! :)

I live out in Beaverton and I hate it. I live for a year over in the LA Grande area and I want to go back to a small town life. the only thing is the growing season is shorter there and there are a lot of things that will not do well there because of the hot months and very cold winter months. Ok I will get to the point now I go to school full time now and will for the next five or so years. I want to much to be all on my own. can you give me any pointers on how to do it on my own.

Matron – I just found your blog and am so inspired! I grew up in Portland, but have been living out in Montana for the last 6 years. My boyfriend and I make the best of our yard by raising vegetables, chickens, and some fruit, as well as preserving/freezing as much food as possible. We hope to one day move to a larger piece of land and make the transition to farming. I’m guessing you get this question frequently, but do you have any advice for a budding farmer? I’ve read Joe Salatin’s book “You Can Farm” (where he basically says “just do something and stop saying you need land), and this year we’ve decided to start selling excess eggs. I also spent a summer working on a local farm (not that this makes me an expert). Any advice, comments or thoughts would be wonderful.

I love your blog and really enjoying reading it every day, thanks so much. Your dogs look so happy and like they really are a part of everything – do you have any tips or books to recommend about training farm dogs? I’m less worried about training a dog to herd etc, but more interested in how you get them used to other animals and not chasing or bothering those other animals. Thanks so much!

Lina, the only tip I can share about dogs and livestock is make sure you get a dog that is known for being comfortable around livestock. We do not herd our animals with the dogs at all, but the dogs are expected to be around the cattle, sheep, and chickens and not want to chase or kill them. We have always had Aussies here on the farm, and I have also had a German Shepherd, and my husband had a Chow and wolf hybrid. The Shepherd and wolf hybrid were good dogs and weren’t interested in chasing, but the Chow was a different story. He only wanted to kill livestock, but was a good dog otherwise. We kept him until he died of old age, but it was a trial.

It helps to get the dog as a pup, and start introducing them right away to the routine. Plus all the other basic obedience stuff that makes them listen to you and not their inner selves! LOL they all have selective hearing though I have noticed…

Kevin, I haven’t got back to answering that, I know, but it’s hard to find definitive info in one place. A good place to start is here on this old book which is now online:http://www.archive.org/details/onmilchcowswhe00guaerich
And Gearld Fry has some great pictures on his website too.

I don’t know if what I see on my cows are happy lines or not, but the lines in the hair also indicate fertility and such. Most of my cattle show dapples like horses do when they are in good condition, but the cattle’s dapples are more maple leaf shaped than round. I wish I knew more about just what exactly would help each cow with her adrenals. A friend who does muscle testing on her cow and calf, found that her cow was at 60% and had more flies than her calf who tested at 90%, so she is adjusting her minerals to see what makes a difference. I am hoping to learn more from her experiment!

The happy lines that I’ve seen on the dairy cows are on their sides at their widest point. Its easiest to see them in the sunlight. One of the ladies has so many it looks like you could use them as a wash board. Dr. Paul Detloff mentioned happy lines at a seminar my farmer friend attended. He got his information from an old book a German wrote on the study of cattle and their coats as health indicators.

I’ve just found your blog and am looking forward to reading it all. I have just read Farmer Boy for the first time after it was recommended to me – a lovely book.
It’s lovely to find people who feel similarly about the important things in life – food, animals, education etcetc Truly the internet is a wonderful thing!
Must go and feed the goats – our animals eat first too!

I’ve never read about you…..glad I finally did. We sure have a lot in common and that’s probably why I was attracted to your blog and to you. I unschooled and used cloth diapers….not in that order though. I do envy your farm and the heritage that comes with it. Maybe someday I’ll have a “real” farm, although my BFF isn’t fond of old houses…he’d like to rest when retirement rolls around. It’s quite exhausting using your brain as hard as he does every day!

Do you have categories or are they in the “cloud”? I’ve decided instead of wasting more time on forums, I’d read your old posts so I can learn from someone who is a kindred spirit, instead of constantly fighting the crowd that makes me feel stupid. I did love the line….can’t remember which post….peer pressure is alive and well. I’m not on the playground anymore….something like that!!! Loved it!

Love your blog, we are also striving to be self sufficient here in Spain. Potatoe storage is a problem due to mice, we also have a problem with colorado beatle, is this something you also have to battle with if so how do you deal with them?

Anne, there have been studies showing that if the soil is balanced and has good organic matter that the potato beetles are not a problem. We don’t see any in our gardens, and hopefully that is because we are taking care of our soil. I rotate the potatoes on a loose 4 year plan, so that helps too. All that being said, we don’t have too many pest problems because of our cool, mountain nights. So my success is probably a combination of many factors. Good composted animal manure can’t be beat though, from any type of livestock you may have. As for the rodents – we employ lots of barn cats which seems to make a huge difference, coupled with the fact that we are more grass based instead of grain, so we don’t have much grain available for the little critters! Best of luck to you and thanks for reading!

I love your blog, it helps me make it through my day. If I could trade my full time work, full time school, sandwich generation lifestyle for my own place in the country, sounds like heaven. I was wondering if you could help me with a question – I have a glass butter churn that looks just like your 1 gal. and was wondering how do you clean the wooden paddles?

Love the blog, big Joel Salatin fan myself.Understand the self identifying hybrid, am somewhat of a philosophical hybrid myself. I’m interested in where the political left and right meet- back of the circle- alternative schooling, alternative medicine, organic food. Love the cow dogs

I do enjoy your blog and look forward to learning from you. I also love my shop vac, once sucked a plate right off the wall! Had an 18 gallon one in the house for a couple years and it would suck up a pair of socks, now have a smaller(husband over took the big one for the wood shop) 5 gallon one, not as much power but very impressive non the less. Our last 2 kids are in public school, but before we went public(I say we cuz when they went I went and then the school hired me as a teachers aide)we home schooled for 12 years. Our middle child came back to home school for her last 2 years and loved it. Serious, a loss of friend ship over clothe diapers!?! We used clothe for a couple of our babies. I bought cloth diapers for other uses also, they work great for when we make sauerkraut and when we make lefse. We garden and I love my raspberry patch, it is my little piece of heaven on earth. Enough rambling, again I look forward to peaking into your world, thanks for sharing.

Hi! Stopped by to see your website, Must say it’s very informative and I really enjoyed the beautiful evening pictures. The chicken butchering was informative. I wondered how the cones worked and I do believe the chicken isn’t so stressed. I like your site. I’m glad I stopped by and will try to drop in again soon. Have a great day!

I just stumbled on your blog. I’m alot alike you in many many ways! I look forward to following along in your journey. I live on a tiny little homestead in Illinois with my husband (nobody I’d rather spend time with) and our beautiful daughter. We raise Kinder goats for milk and meat, have 4 house dogs, some rabbits for meat, and a bunch of chickens running around giving us yummy fresh eggs. I can alot and would like to can alot more. Nothing tastier than food you raise yourself!

Dear Matronof husbandry:Well I have just invested the best hour in the last year reading of your wisdom and insight in and around your farm and garden. We have (my wife,and me) been making a slow but steady escape from ????? well life as it has been called. We are also in our 50s and the past two years started and stopped gardening and raising laying chickens in the attempt to become more “self sufficient” both in food source and peace of mind. Last year a friend made available a little corner of his property to use as garden and a couple others have joined to work together too. He has had layers for several years. And this year I have decided to commit to raising broilers, rosters or what have you. That’s where I need help. Class room has not worked well for me in the past. Nor the hours and hours of reading on the inter net….I learn better and easier by observing and seeing up close. It has been that way in my 25 years of building and construction from residential to industrial. I would really like to see first hand and be able to ask a couple questions as they arise. Are you up for it ? P.S. we are not so far from you just a bit north from what I can determine north of the river.Great-Fully-teachable Odemfamily

So moving….I live in a tract home in Orange County. Can I come visit? Your life sounds lovely. I’m thankful when I can find grass-fed beef at Trader Joes (and even then it travels from Australia-ugh)
Jana

Moh,
You have one of the most beautifully written blogs and I am really excited to have found it. I must admit I am thoroughly envious of you. From the little bit I’ve read thus far, I would dare say you live a wonderful life, a life I long for. I am working on converting my family toward agrarian sustainability, but man that addiction to Wal-Mart is hard to break. The toughest challenge is convincing my mother that the family’s 60 acres she calls a farm is being beat to death by her herd of horses with their uncontrolled access. I keep sharing the knowledge I learn from folks like you and others who live sustainably, and I am starting to see a glimmer of enlightenment. Any how, thanks again and I look forward to reading and learning more from you.

I heard about your blog from 47th Ave Farm and have really enjoyed reading it! I thought you might be interested in the following:

Karova Farm Services is pleased to host:

Dr. Paul Detloff, DVM

For an Educational Seminar and Q & A

on

Alternative Herd Health for Goats, Sheep & Cattle

July 6, 2010 from 10:00am to 2:30pm

at the

OSU North Willamette Research & Education Center

Aurora, Oregon

Space is limited – please email farmshelf@karovafarm.com or call 503-851-3397 for more information and to reserve your place at the seminar.

Join Dr. Paul Detloff, DVM for an educational seminar and Q & A on alternative herd health for cattle, sheep & goats, July 6, 2010 from 10:00am to 2:30pm at the OSU North Willamette Extension Center, Aurora, Oregon, hosted by Karova Farm Services (lunch will be provided). Space is limited – please email farmshelf@karovafarm.com for more information and to reserve your place at the seminar.

Dr Paul Detloff, DMV, author of Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals, has been a veterinarian for over 40 years, specializing in organic practices for over 20 years. From his years of practice and study in animal vitality, cellular energy and whole-system health, he has researched and developed naturopathic-type treatment protocols for animals. This R & D has led to the creation of proprietary tinctures and formulas under the label “Dr. Paul’s Lab”, and he is excited to announce the availability of these products in the Pacific Northwest through Karova Farm Services. Dr. Paul’s Lab products are approved for organic use.

I am sending you this “beautiful blogger award” because I have learned SO much from reading your writings here on your blog You are one of my inspirations.

As I wrote on my post: “These awards seem kind of like a cross between a meme and a chain letter, but in a “oh I think what you are doing is nifty” way… (and) …”fun is desirable… compulsion is anathema… following orders makes me grumpy. So my take on the given instructions are that the folks I send this on to can play along if it seems like fun to them, and pass it along if they want to…”

I am sure that as a working farmer that this kind of frivolity is not a task that you would find useful or necessary, You include so much interesting information as part of your writing, and mostly I just wanted to add my voice to the applause for both what you are doing and how clearly you explain it. I have a whole different understanding about the potential for a good relationship between livestock and land from reading your blog

I recently found your interesting blog and hope to visit regularly. The part that caught my eye the most was the blurb about the schoolhouse your parent have on their ground. I grew up with the schoolhouse in our pasture, then lived in it for 29 years, and now it is a bed n breakfast/retreat! http://www.countryschoolretreat.110mb.com

Hi Matron,
Love your blog, just near everything you are into suits me fine, too! Live about 1.5 hrs. south of you, Western slope but at 2300 ft. in God’s country, 20 minutes from where the Great-Grandparents stopped the wagons. Friesians and German Shepherds. Wish I had a Chanterelle patch as good as you, but have some truffles so can’t complain. Look forward to hearing more of your stories!

How funny! I learned about your blog from Steve Solomon’s Soil and Health yahoo group. And it points me back to the Gorge. I work in Hood River at gorge.net, commuting in from Vancouver. This is very inspirational. I’m looking forward to figuring out what can be grown down on our place at the river. Blogs like yours definitely help. Thanks!

I lost friends about the cloth diapers too…. and I think she didn’t like the breastfeeding thing. And I know she wouldn’t have liked my unschooling ideas. Cest la vie!

Your blog is beautiful, and while I know it is hard work, your life is beautiful to me too. I love it that I learned a new use for parsnips tonight! I think they are just about perfect food. Thanks for the little trip to the country for this City Kitty.

I read your article about raising meat chickens and it was very informative. My family is going to get some Cornish X to see if it’s something we want to do. I was wondering where you get your bulk ingredients for your chicken feed? Can you buy the items at a regular feed store or do they have to be ordered online? Also, where did you get your Plasson gravity-fed waterers?

Darcy, that depends on the feedstore, the best bet is to find the Fertrell dealer closest to you and find out from them if you want to go the organic route. We did not use organic feed this year, so the mill that ;mixed the feed for us gathered the ingredients.

Matron (love the name! We also chose to use pseudonyms but thankfully chose shorter ones). Thank you for visiting our blog at Jefferson’s Daughters. Great blog you have here and the pictures are absolutely wonderful — my compliments to the photographer. You sound like you’re doing the same sort of thing we are, and it’s so nice to find someone else who is still wearing a ’70s wardrobe… I have bookmarked your site and plan to spend the next rainy day catching up on your posts, as I’m sure I will learn a few things. That’s assuming I can get the tallow rendered and the jam made from the frozen strawberries and the mending done — you know, all the “little” projects you save up for a rainy day? Keep living the good life!

Wow, what a great blog. I am 23 years old and starting to realize a passion for the homesteading lifestyle. The more I learn, the more I think that’s the way things were MEANT to be. It’s just a hunch for now, but I want to see for myself. Do you know of any homesteaders/organic farms, etc. that take in people to help work the land, and learn the way of life? If not, how does one begin doing such things for themselves? (think- just out of college, debts to pay off, etc.)

What a fantastic project and blog! I run a community garden in central London as a student society, trying to teach fellow university students not just about growing food but also self-sufficiency. Compared to your farm, our organic garden is but a tiny patch in the middle of the city, beset with vandals and bureaucracy. I’ll be keeping track of your effort for inspiration. Thank you :-)

Thank you so much for sharing all your experience and wisdom! Great Blog! And great photos too, by the way. I especially appreciate the detail you share. It’s that specific information that makes your blog so valuable. But I also love hearing your thoughts on life in general. I also enjoyed checking out the blogs you follow. I think there’s one you’d like that’s not up there, if I may make a suggestion. The Walden Effect. I have no personal knowledge of them at all, but your styles are similar and I think you might enjoy it, even though you’re in very different areas of the country. Anyway, thank you again for the time you spend educating and inspiring the rest of us!

Your blog is so admiring. I spend so many days thinking and wondering how I could even start to be self sufficient. I am 25 years old and just starting life so I believe that now is a great time to start learning! You are truly an inspiration and I’m excited about reading your blog!

MOH, finally had a day to come back and browse through some past posts. I love to hear about your activities and nearly always learn something. My eyes popped when I saw that you had added Jefferson’s Daughters to your blog list — we are flattered and will return the favor. I haven’t read everything on your site yet but am working my way through (and taking notes on some of the posts!) as the weather and workload allow. Workload is a little heavier at the moment as hubby is hunting in the northeast corner of the state. Which reminds me, I’d better go make more room in the freezer for ducks and geese to go along with the beef and deer and chicken and pork…

Bee, I know what you mean about the workload…it seems like it should be slowing down, and it seems that won’t be the case for some time. Hopefully soon I can get caught up reading blogs and such. Snow is predicted for Thursday – I guess winter time will be official then. :)

Great blog. It sounds like you have your hands full but it is totally worth it. I wanted to read Joel Salatin’s book so much I actually pre-ordered it and bought it hard cover, no regrets either. I am afraid we won’t be able to implement many of his recommendations. One ageing muddlehead can do only so much.

But the process has been a joy. Waving from the upper Columbia, on other side of the Cascades.

I stumbled across to your blog from a link over at the “urban hennery.” I enjoyed reading many of your posts and love all the photos of life around your farm. I especially liked reading about feeding your dogs. You seem to have similar ideals, just a bit more of rural than I will ever get to be.

I tried to find private contact information for you but could not. You may appreciate knowing that you have been plagiarized, as have I, by this site:http://www.whitetopcreekfarm.com/
I have been trying to track down the owner or find another way to shut it down.
Best wishes!

I reported it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Perhaps if several bloggers all complain, we can get something done. I noticed that among the plagiarized sites is not only people like you and me but also Scripps news service. Your plagiarized post is the one on scat.

MOH- thank you so much for the time you take out of your busy life to blog. I’m a homesteader at heart, but currently sentenced to office life and living on a rented piece of patchwork in the woods. And so I enjoy homesteading vicariously through your blog, and on the weekend when I’m caring for our meat rabbits…and dream. :) I’m sure that when the day comes, and we have our own piece of patchwork somewhere, I’ll be frantically hunting through your archives for information on making out own ram pump.
So anyway, thank you for sharing your life with us!

I sent mail a little while ago about the pound pears. I’ve now made it through all your archives – what a great read!

You mention in several posts a ”newly minted farming friend” who was later murdered on her farm by her own child. I’m curious what her name was and when it happened? (Her maiden name didn’t happen to be Schultz, perchance?)
There is a skeleton in my family’s closet that is just that story and they lived in OR as well. My cousins (the murderer’s younger siblings) have been raised by their grandparents (my great-aunt and uncle) as a result. It seems a bit coincidental to have that many farm-child murderers….

Feel free not to publish this comment/reply. I understand wanting to keep the story private.

I love your site, it is nice to find a pasture based blog that raises what I hope to raise on our farm. I also have a blog and was wonering if you could give me any advise on how to grow my blog? I can see why people like your site, you got great content, and you are a natural storie teller.

I am a huge fan of your blog and I look forward to your postings. The life you live is really my dream- probably sounds weird to hear that I’m sure. I have learned so much from your site that I have applied to my mini-farm in Mill Valley, CA (10 raised beds full of veggies and 6 chickens). I am wondering two things: 1)How often to you fertilize your veggies in your hoop house, specifically the tomatoes and squash? 2)Any advice on growing brussels sprouts? I have failed 2 years in getting them to grow. Thanks :)

Cassandra, you’re so nice :D!
1) I plant into compost and that’s it for the season. Before I plant anything though I add needed amendments like lime, etc, and til those in and then go from there with the compost (usually from the hens because it is light and easy to move) and planting.

2) I start my BS in May for planting out in June and it takes them all summer to grow. This year I am growing Diablo F1 and Red Bull OP – both look about the same, time will tell if the OP forms good sprouts. Again pretty rich soil and lots of lime if you can grow cabbage you can grow Brussels. :) You might be able to get away with planting Brussels this late in your location, I have never had good luck though here planting them now.

What a fantastic blog.Just wanted to say thanks for such a detailed and entertaining work you do here. Very inspirational and I hope you don’t mind when I shamelessly copy many of your ideas this coming year. Thanks again from the deep south.

Hi…found you today through the referral by Sailors Small farm. I am going to be moving to Oregon next fall so am always excited to meet my new “local” people. I am involved in 22 farm/local food activities here in West Virginia–blogging for WVFarm2u and more deeply involved in Huntington’s Wild Ramp Market. Hope to meet you in time!

I’m writing an ebook about simple root storage methods and root crops, and I was wondering if you’d have any interest in contributing a short essay about feeding roots to livestock. I’ve been reading your blog for a few years and am always inspired by your stunning photographs and holistic approach toward animals. Please drop me an email at anna@kitenet.net if you’re interested. Thanks for considering the idea, and even more for your wonderful blog!

I just discovered your blog–Very Nice. Thank you for the care you put into it. Great photos, details, and your values overlap a lot with mine. I’m adding you to “Blogs worth Following List on my blog.”

Have really enjoyed reading your blog…especially the passionate info about MiG grazing and rehab of the pastureland. Recently moved my 25 yr old farm onto 40 acres in the eastern Willamette valley. Raising Lowline Angus, hair sheep, Berkshire pigs and continuing with a 23 yr Oberhasli goat dairying passion. Wondering if you have any specific readings about MiG and pasture rehab. Working hard on perimeter fencing now to do electric strip grazing paddocks off them. Debating daily how best to set up my real ‘beginning point’ of caring for these pastures and getting them truly healthy and productive again. Last two summers I’ve spent a lot of time and money physically removing tansy while working to make it less habitable for that and other noxious weeds. Only have a bull, 5 cows and calves due…not quite ‘mob’ sized but the sheep, goats and pigs will pitch in.

Colleen, thanks. I would recommend reading Comeback Farms, by Greg Judy, he talks about large herds but the ideas are still sound even for small herds. Your sheep can eat the tansy with no ill effects, and as your grass gets stronger the tansy will disappear to some extent.

My turning point was getting off the fast moves in large paddocks, and switching to short duration/ high density grazing by letting the grass get taller, and using smaller paddocks. I saw dramatic differences in just one season. My mob isn’t too big either, but it still works pretty good. I’ll never have a herd numbering in the 100’s, so I had to make it work with what I have.

Hello, My name is Kaylan…. I love your blog! I have a strange question that I thought you might be able to help me with : ) our first milk cow is due to calve around june, and I have never milked a cow before. we plan on milking her by machine but i need to obviously know how to milk her by hand too! How do I learn how to do this? I’ve read alot and watched alot of youtube videos, but I would like some practice before I need to milk her. Any suggestions? I dont know anyone who milks a cow nearby. I live near scio, or. Thanks!

Kaylan, Hi and thanks! Milking by hand is pretty easy and even if you ever want to use a machine, hand milking is a good skill to have. Think of the cow’s teat like a pastry bag, you don’t pull, you pinch off the top of the teat where it is attached to the udder with your thumb and index fingers and use the rest of your fingers to squeeze out the milk in the teat. And you do this carefully, no real pinching, pulling or squeezing too hard. You release the top to let milk from the milk well to fill the teat and repeat. It gets easier as you go, and it helps a lot that your cow is calm and will let her milk down for you.

I would check the real milk site for a raw milk producer in your area and contact them for a lesson. It lists producers by state and town so you should be able to find someone close by.

Hello. In 2009 Did you post an article on grafting fruit trees on the Simple Green Frugal Coop Blog? If so, I was wondering if I might have your permission to use some photos from that post on Scions in a seminar presentation?? Please let me know when you can . Most appreciated!! –Sarah sowings42@gmail.com

Some of my colleagues and I here at Synder Filtration recently wrote a whitepaper about the Evolution of Dairy Processing here in the United States, and we also created an infographic that presents visual representations of a lot of the data used in our paper.

Here is the introductory statement from the Whitepaper, which is also a good indicator of the subject matter of the infographic:

The dairy processing industry continues its evolution. Where milk processing once took place on the farm or close to it, the modern dairy processing industry has consolidated and moved processing operations closer to cities. These plants process raw milk into a variety of dairy products such as yogurt, cream, butter, and cheese.

While modern dairy processing has improved operational efficiencies, consolidation and automation have introduced new problems, particularly problems associated with waste. Whey, which is a liquid byproduct leftover after milk has been curdled and strained, is often dumped. Ten gallons of milk are typically required to make a gallon of cheese, leaving behind nine gallons of whey which is traditionally disposed of.

Disposal costs and environmental issues are among the numerous challenges that dairy producers face in dealing with whey. New markets and technologies are changing that. As the dairy processing industry matures, whey byproducts may no longer be seen as waste, but rather as a market opportunity.

I am writing to you specifically because we thought you might be interested in our content or in sharing some (or all of it) with your readers. If you have any questions about our paper or infographic, please feel free to contact us. We would certainly love it if you wanted to mention our infographic or our whitepaper on your blog or in any of your social media channels as well.

Just found your blog, it’s so fun! We are small, itty bitty scare but have been doing this a long time as well. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that 90-110 inches of rain annually! Here in my part of Colorado 20″ of moisture is considered good. lol Anyway, thanks for sharing.

I realized I was no longer receiving your blog and then, duh, it hit me. As I prepared t leave West Virginia for Oregon, we transitioned the Wild Ramp blog to another person and so, my email notifications stopped. I hope she is enjoying your blog! Anyway, I finally caught on and resubscribed. This is my new persona and we are settling into our new life in McMinnville. Hope to come visit soon!!

I am so pleased to have found your blog! We moved out to an 1880’s farmhouse in the forest near Beavercreek and are just beginning to get the hang of things around here. There is much to learn and think about in our new surroundings and it is nice to see what others are up to. I noticed your carrot harvest and was wondering what variety those were.
Thanks!

My name is Eric Jensen, and I work at Great American Country cable network. We carry a series now in its third season called Farm Kings about a family of farmers in Pennsylvania. In trying to get the word out about the series we recently crafted an interesting infographic about farming in general that may work for the Matron of Husbandry Blog. We’d like to share it with you and invite you to use it. I’ve pasted a press release below about the infographic, which may be accessed at the following link: https://sni.box.com/s/bnfcjn93zbdllkrsj2pu.

Let us know if we can provide you any more information about Farm Kings. Thanks for helping spread the word as we continue to spotlight farming on Great American Country.

Warm regards,
Eric Jensen

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Great American Country, Home of Hit Series ‘Farm Kings’, Presents Farming Factoids 2014

KNOXVILLE, TENN. [FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE—JANUARY 14, 2014] – Did you know more than 6,000 varieties of apples exist throughout the world? Or that one dairy cow can produce up to seven gallons of milk each day, yielding more than 2,500 gallons per year? Did you know that food sourced through community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs average 90 miles of travel from garden to the point of sale, vs. 5,000 miles for conventional produce? These are just some of the interesting facts compiled in Great American Country’s Farming Factoids infographic. Great American Country is home to the original hit series Farm Kings.

Farm Kings chronicles the King family of Freedom Farms, consisting of matriarch Lisa, daughter Elizabeth “Bitty,” and brothers Joe, Tim, Pete, Dan, Luke, Sam, John, Paul and Ben. Journey with 11 hard-working, family-oriented Kings as they team to keep the family farm going, provide the freshest foods possible and build their assorted business units including a CSA program, a bakery, farmers’ markets and more. Farm Kings airs Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on Great American Country.

That Jar Nazi sounds like a guy that has been terrorizing people at estate and garage sales around portland trying to beat them down on the price to what he “deems” the correct price and if he does not get his price he throws a fit, I believe he’s known locally as “Jim the Jar guy” does anyone know if thats his correct name and maybe his last name?

Howdy Matron, I found you via Ben Hewitt, and it so happens I live here in the Columbia River Gorge area… wondering how far away you might be exactly? I am looking to become a customer of a local farm/ranch. If your outfit is open to civilian customers (individual size purchases) please do let me know, I believe you have access to my email address from this post?
Thanks so much! (And thanks for posting a recommended reading page too!)

Please don’t quit! Your blog is one of my very favorites, and your beautiful photos always brighten my day. Plus, the world needs more information about manure-spreading. (Or at least I do. Now that I finally have deep bedding from a ruminant, meaning it has some hay and seeds in it, I need to figure out the best place to apply this new blessing without causing a weed extravaganza!) I know I almost never comment, but I read avidly!

Ah you know, winter doldrums and boredom set in. How many times can I write about cow poops and picking prunes? There’s probably no danger though of me ever being quiet ;) I remind myself of the Christmas tree in Ansersen’s fairy tales.

Hi there… Ia m so thrilled to find your blog. We live just a few miles up the road from you and I would be so very grateful if you might have some insight into gardens at this elevation. I am having a heck of a time finding anyone who knows what does well here and trial and error, while fun, is leaving me feeling empty handed after a season of tending… I am thinking some sort of greenhouse cover? Something to possibly extend our season up here? Also, I was recently encouraged to contact you regarding meat orders as we are not the best property for raising livestock. I am looking forward to sitting with a cup of tea and digging into your vast knowledge here. Many thanks, and I hope it’s ok that I contacted you this way…